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Research

About the laboratory for Neural Computation, Ageing, and Memory (NCAM)

Research in NCAM seeks to provide a more complete
understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in
cognition and enduring memory formation, with emphasis on how these mechanisms are compromised with advancing age.

While medical progress has made it possible for succeeding
generations to live longer, discernible cognitive impairment (i.e., memory
loss) will afflict a substantial proportion of the elderly, even in the absence
of neurodegenerative disease. Thus, determining the nature and causes of this
cognitive impairment has become a major challenge in the study of aging. While it was once thought
that neuron loss was an inevitable consequence of aging, recent research has
demonstrated that the number of neurons in components of the medial temporal
lobe is comparable in young vs. aged mammals, including humans. Thus, the
critical challenge is to uncover other, physiological factors that must cause
cognitive impairment in aging.